Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha organisation, has been accused of allegedly removing the bust of eminent Marathi playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari from Pune’s famous Sambhaji Park.
The Maratha organisation has claimed that the writer had wrongly portrayed Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj, in his play ‘Rajsanyas‘. The accused persons then threw the bust into the nearby Mutha river.
As per information given by the Deccan police, the incident occurred at around 2 am. Deccan police said that some unidentified persons barged into the garden and dismantled the bust before throwing it in the river.
Santosh Shinde. a member of Sambhaji brigade said that a Harshavardhan Magdum, Pradeep Kanse, Swapnil Kale and a person named Ganesh were involved in the act.”These four persons will soon surrender before the police” added Shinde.
As per Santosh Shinde , Ram Ganesh Gadkari has wrongly potrayed Sambhaji in his books and plays.”Gadkari has portrayed Sambhaji as an alcoholic and a womanizer. As per Gadkari Sambhaji was not a warrior which is indeed wrong” added Shinde.
The report said that the outfit had warned that they will never tolerate defamation of historic persons, adding that it was ironic that Gadkari’s bust was installed in a garden named after the Maratha king.
Swabhiman Sanghatana chief Nitesh Rane on Tuesday afternoon tweeted that those who removed the bust had nothing to do Sambhaji Brigade.
संभाजी उद्यानातील नाटककार राम गणेश गडकरींचा पुतळा हटवण्यात संभाजी ब्रिगेडचा काहीही संबंध नाही..ज्या मर्द मराठ्यांनी केलं त्यांना सलाम!!
— nitesh rane (@NiteshNRane) January 3, 2017
Meanwhile, Pune Mayor Prashant Jagtap announced that the bust will be reinstalled.
(Inputs from various sources)
